China: The World's Largest Box Office
China's box office became worth 20 billion RMB in 2020 surpassing the United States to become the world's largest box office and movie market.
China's annual total box office reached RMB20.417 billion (US$3.129 billion) in 2020. The total number of movie tickets sold in China reached 548 million in 2020.
Historical war dramas, including "The Eight Hundred" and "The Sacrifice," grossed RMB4.23 billion in the box office, accounting for one-fifth of the total box office revenue this year and were the highest grossing movies in the world in 2020.
10,700 movie theaters nationwide, roughly 94.8% of all movie theaters, had re-opened for business by the end of 2020, as the domestic COVID-19 outbreak was brought under control.
By December, the Chinese film market had recovered overall to a level of 90% year-on-year, with the monthly box office tally reaching 92%, compared to the same period in 2019.
The average number of movies watched by Chinese audiences in 2020 was 1.73, a decline from 2.88 in 2019.
Annual statistics reflect the impact of nationwide cinema closures for 178 days, which was part of an effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic cinemas began reopening on July 20, 2020.
Source: Maoyan